Crash course on standup comedy
A new workshop series is perfectly timed for those whose New Year’s resolutions include doing something scary or fun, or learning public speaking.
A five-part beginners’ standup comedy course is being run by the Palmerston North Comedy Hub, a collective of comedians. It is designed to encourage those with dreams of getting on stage to make people laugh.
The Hub began early last year when several experienced comedians living locally got together to launch regular local shows, club treasurer Dylan Stewart said. One of their first events was a two-hour beginners’ workshop in February last year, before shows started in April.
‘‘The group is starting to gain some momentum.
We have a fortnightly open mic show at The Royal anyone can come along to, and monthly theatre shows at The Dark Room.’’
There are about 10 regular performers, with another dozen taking the stage from time to time, he said.
‘‘It’s all walks of life. We’ve got a doctor in our group who’s brilliant, we’ve got guys that work in retail, people who work at the university, two ladies who are a little bit older and it’s something they always wanted to do.
‘‘We’ve also had people come along and say ‘this is on my bucket list, I’ve always wanted to do it’. It really is a mixed bag, and that’s what we want. It could be people who’ve been told ‘you’re so funny, you should be on stage, you should be a comedian’ – that’s who we want.’’
Stewart has developed the beginners’ course and says it’s likely to be repeated. ‘‘The three key things it focuses on is the physical stage work and performance on stage, the techniques for writing comedy, and it focuses on a background of comedy and comedy in New Zealand.‘‘
There will be a session about what it’s like being on stage.
‘‘We were telling people the lights are going to be really, really bright. But on their first performance people were coming back saying ‘the lights are literally blinding, I didn’t know they would be that bright’.
‘‘We actually go and get on a stage to show you – how do I hold a microphone? How do the lights work? What are lighting cues?
‘‘You’re going to be nervous, you won’t be able to think, you won’t hear the crowd, but keep going and they will be laughing. Hopefully, they feel a bit more confident.’’
This year, the Palmerston North Comedy Hub’s performances start from February at The Royal, and the first performance from the course participants will be in March at the Par-baked Lols show at The Dark Room. The course started yesterday, but participants can join at any stage.